Coming into college I wasn’t very sure about joining Greek Life. I had no knowledge of it and it just seemed to be a waste of money. My sister Miranda (an alumna from Delta Zeta at Kent State) was the sweetheart of a fraternity here called Alpha Sigma Phi (ΑΣΦ). She was very persistent on me at least going and checking out their tables at KSU Blastoff and the Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) event.
I talked with a few other chapters and ended up deciding that I liked the guys of Alpha Sigma Phi. There's a week called “Rush Week” where they hold events almost every day and it's just a way to get to meet the guys and see what the brotherhood is like.
After my first few events, I was dead set on joining.
So, the question being asked may be, “What changed your mind so much for you to join?” Well, after talking to the brothers and learning what Greek Life is about and what their chapter’s values are, I learned Greek Life is a whole lot more than paying for friends. The biggest part is the events they host couldn’t be done by just a few friends. These events are large scale and can host over 100 people.
A few examples would be socials with other Greek Life organizations where you get to meet some new people while having an event like a cookout. Another example of an event is Brotherhoods. One Brotherhoods event that we hosted recently involved renting out an entire movie theater to watch the new Spider-Man movie. These events help you meet so many new people that you may have never gotten to know. I have plenty of friends who I have met through these events that have become some of my best friends.
Another great thing that comes with being in Greek Life is philanthropy.
These are events hosted every semester solely to raise money for charity. My fraternity’s philanthropy partners are RAINN, Shatter Proof, Home For Our Troops, Aware Awake Alive, and Active Minds. Each semester we pick one of them and host large scale events to raise money. The event we have coming up is called “Kickin’ with the Sigs.” It is a kickball tournament and we host events the entire week before to help raise additional funds. Every Greek Life organization has their own unique events and they all raise money for different charities.
Joining my fraternity has also brought other great things into my life during my first year here at Kent State. One of the biggest things was having multiple academic resources. First one being we have our own study room. This room is in the Student Center and is only open to my fraternity. It’s a place to get help from other brothers or just quietly do some homework.
Going off of that, my other resource is the brothers themselves. When some people think of fraternities, they think of business majors. Although this can be true in some fraternities, my fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi has a very diverse group of majors. Being this way allows for others and myself to get help from other brothers in classes that they may have already taken.
This also allows for them to give you some guidance because they’ve been through all of what you’re going through. Sometimes it’s not an academic thing you need help with. Maybe it’s mental health or school or that life is getting hard. We have a position within the fraternity that is solely for mental health. They have a board of brothers so that you can choose who you feel comfortable with and reach out for any help and to even just vent.
The brotherhood they have built is all about treating each other fairly and treating everyone fairly, not just those in our fraternity.
Being a part of Alpha Sigma Phi has brought some great memories. The first one I recall was during the first month of school. Some of the brothers wanted to go out and get something to eat. They decided to invite all of the guys who were interested in joining. So, we all went to Applebee’s and got half-priced apps. Even though we weren’t brothers or 100% on joining, they treated us all like we were brothers. They even paid for our food.
Another great time I recall was when we recently had our formal event, and we rented out a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We stayed for a whole weekend, had a formal dinner, and just had a great time relaxing and bonding before finals started. There are countless more memories I have, and I can promise there will be many more.
If there’s any advice I can give to incoming freshmen, it’ll be to join Greek Life. The sooner you get involved, the more fun you’ll have. There are so many organizations here at Kent State and there is one that is for everyone. The friends you will make will be lifelong brothers or sisters and you will create some of your favorite memories while here at Kent State.
I have had some of the greatest memories while a part of Alpha Sigma Phi, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. In Phi, To Better the Man.